Searching Reef Central Efficiently: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

[K9]

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way, shape, or form supported, endorsed, or compensated by Reef Central, Missing Link Systems, Inc., or phpPortals. I created this tutorial simply to help members of the Reef Central Online Community find what they’re looking for more efficiently and effectively by optimizing their search for information. No more, no less. Thank you.

-Ted Giro
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Searching Reef Central Efficiently: A tutorial by Ted Giro

The Search function on Reef Central is a valuable tool that is available to all RC members. Many common as well as complex issues and questions can be researched and/or answered by utilizing the search engine. However, this resource is not used as often as it should be for various reasons. Perhaps the member would rather post a new thread in an effort to get immediate feedback and opinions from other members. Maybe they are simply unfamiliar with or intimidated by the Search engine and its capabilities. Whatever the case, this tutorial will help the new and veteran user alike better understand this valuable resource on RC.

Part 1. The “Search By Keyword� box:
This area is where you input your keyword(s) for the search. If you are searching for something very specific, you can use the words “AND�, “OR�, or “NOT� (in all capitals) to search for multiple specific words (ex. “sand AND aragonite�), either one of two words (ex. “ich OR cryptocaryon�), or one word but not another (ex. “lights NOT fluorescent�). These words allow you to further narrow your search. By using an asterisk (*), you can search for part of a word (ex. typing “*light*� in the Keyword box will return “lights�, “lighting�, “enlightened�, etc.). This will help search for variations of a word from typing in a single form of a keyword.

Part 2. The “Search By User Name� box:
If you are looking for a particular post or thread written by a specific user, this is where you would type in that person’s username. For example, typing “clownfish� in the Keyword box and “k9decoy� in the User Name box would bring up threads containing the word “clownfish� that k9decoy (my user name) had started or responded to.

To include what we covered in part #1, typing “clownfish AND maroon� in the Keyword box and “k9decoy� in the User Name box would return threads that I had started or responded to that contained the words “clownfish� and “maroon�.

Part 3. The “Search Forum…� box:
This search-modifying option allows the user to search for a particular keyword(s) within a specific forum on RC. This search option is a little more complex than the first two we’ve covered since you not only get to choose from a specific forum to search in, but also whether to search the whole thread or just the title, as well as whether you want to see your results as individual posts or individual threads. For example, if your tang has Ich and you’d like to find solutions for curing it, you would want to search for keywords “tang AND ich� in the “Fish Disease Treatment� forum as this would return to you the most relevant and specific information and give you the best chance of finding information. If you’d like a wider range of responses, simply leave the “Search Forum…� option in its default position, which searches all open forums for your keywords.

If you would like even more specific results returned in your search, you can choose to view threads that contain your keyword(s) in the thread title by clicking the “Search titles only� button before you submit your search. This will leave out threads that may have contained your keywords, “tang� and “ich� for example, but only referenced to them when someone typed these words in their response. An example of this situation would be if someone was responding to a plumbing thread, but noted how their tang liked to swim in the current caused by the return pipes. This mention of the keyword “tang� would list this thread in the results of the search unless it was specified by the user that they only wanted to search thread titles only. Searching the titles only is a much more specific way of sifting through RC threads for your desired information since you might find a thread in which someone previously asked the same exact question that you were going to ask.

Part 4. The “Search For Posts From…� option:
This option allows users to choose from a specific time frame in the history of Reef Central to find their information or to search for a thread that existed at a specific time. This option is pretty self explanatory and simple to use. To get the widest range of results and to search the most threads, choose to search from posts from “any date�. This will search every thread/post since the beginning of RC's existance.

Part 5. The “Sort Results By…� option:
This final option gives the user the ability to choose what order they’d like the results to be displayed in. You can show the results in ascending or descending order segregated by: title, number of replies, number of views, last posing date, poster, or forum.

I hope you have found this tutorial helpful and it enables you to better access the vast amount of information available to you in Reef Central’s archive of threads. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to ask them. Thank you!

[rbaker]

Nice job Ted...

[Agu]

Stuck to the top if you don't mind Ted.............

Agu

[Habib]

Ted:

Thanks a lot.

Two comments I would like to add are:

- The wildcard or asterisk as you call it it has been disabled and might be disabled for an unknown period.

So a wilddcard or an sterisk might not return a search result but would have if it would have been enabled.

So don't rely on the wildcard (asterisk) for the time being.


- Spelling errors by those doing the search or those having made the posts might make the post(s) unsearchable.

If I'm correct then many people use for anemone the spelling amemone.
This is something one can't avoid but is good to know that sometimes some posts will not show up because the person doing the search is using a different and perhaps wrong spelling or because the person who posted it has used a different spelling.

If you are not sure about a spelling then in some cases dictionary.com can help.


BTW I'm pretty sure I made several errurss.

[K9]

Originally posted by Agu
Stuck to the top if you don't mind Ted.............

Agu

Don't mind at all Agu. Glad to help out fellow reefers !

[K9]

Hey everyone, quick edit to my article above. The last sentence in part 4 is incomplete and should read:

"To get the widest range of results and to search the most threads, choose to search from posts from “any date�. This will search every thread/post since the beginning of RC's existance."

Thanks!

[melev]

I use the Search engine quite often, but even then there are times I don't feel I'm getting the best use out of it. I'd love to watch Habib in action sometime, because he seems to have it down to a science.

[maroun.c]

Great tutorial i was considering posting to ask how to use the search option more efficiently. thanks

[Im Lon 2]

Originally posted by K9
For example, typing “clownfish� in the Keyword box and “k9decoy� in the User Name box would bring up threads containing the word “clownfish� that k9decoy (my user name) had started or responded to.

k9 or k9decoy ?

Thanks for the helpfull hints.

Also is there a way to search for 2 words together only (ex. "Turbo AND Skimmer") Looks up Turbo Snails and Skimmer, But is there a way to make it Look up just those to wards together and not apart?

[K9]

Sorry about the username thing. I just had it shortened last week. It's still me though. Same guy .

To answer your question: You want to look for a Berlin Turbo Skimmer I assume? Well, I searched for "turbo AND skimmer" and chose the "thread titles only" option for all threads ever posted on RC. Here's what I came up with: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/se...der=descending

You should find some good results in there . If you search thread titles for "berlin turbo skimmer", you should get some good stuff too. HTH

[Im Lon 2]

I was just giving Turbo Skimmer as a sample. but using the Titles only is a good Idea.

Thanks for the help!

[maroun.c]

Sorry about the username thing. I just had it shortened last week. It's still me though.

sorry for being out of topic but how can you change your username without losing your number of posts and have your old posts under the new userename?

[K9]

Originally posted by maroun.c
sorry for being out of topic but how can you change your username without losing your number of posts and have your old posts under the new userename?

Read the very last post by JohnL at the bottom of this thread. That will give you your answer .

[cheeto]

How do you search for things with numbers ? For instance "Mag 9" I always get an error telling me "9" is to short of a term to search for.

[K9]

Originally posted by cheeto
How do you search for things with numbers ? For instance "Mag 9" I always get an error telling me "9" is to short of a term to search for.

Unfortunately, the search engine will not accept single alphanumerics as a valid query. My only suggestion would be to search for "mag drive" or "mag-drive" and take it from there. HTH

[K9]

You might also have better luck typing the number in word form (ex. "nine" instead of "9").

[dwall174]

Originally posted by K9
DISCLAIMER: I created this tutorial simply to help MEMBERSof the Reef Central Online Community find what they’re looking for more efficiently and effectively by optimizing their search for information.

Maybe that should read Premium Members I never seem to be able to use the "Search" as a Registered Member because of the server always being busy!

I do plan to join as a Premium Member soon! However I need to set-up a pay-pal account first!

[K9]

Yes, becoming a premium member does have it's benefits. One of them is having little to no problems with the search engine and almost 0% downtime.







<<< Joining is easy, just click the "I Support RC" logo to the left!

[yellowtangtank]

hello does anyone in here tell me how much i will need to have a good reef tank or a good fish tank i would spend around 300.00$ to get started and moor as we go on

[yellowtangtank]

i want something small around a 12 - 20 gal reef i dont want so much live rocks in there and mostly all the plnts are going to be fake if posible thank you

[K9]

I strongly advise against keeping plastic plants in any marine aquarium. They will just gather debris and algae and be more of a pain than anything else. IMO, liverock is an excellent filtering option. Learn more about liverock and starting a marine tank here.

Your questions would be better answered if you posted a brand new thread in either the New to the Hobbby forum or the Nano Reefs forum, explaining your situation, and what exactly it is you want this tank to be. Also, check out www.nano-reef.com

Best of luck!

[yellowtangtank]

hello i want to start a salt water tank i need everything but thew 20 gal high tank what do i need

[wildangel_04]

Ryan, K9 just answered you, and skipped right over all those links he put for you

[knpjdad]

Great post! found just what I was looking for using the AND and NOT filters..

Thanks!

[K9]

Originally posted by knpjdad
Great post! found just what I was looking for using the AND and NOT filters..

Thanks!

Glad to help! Happy reefing...